Some Common Editing Errors: Altar, Forgo, Palate

When I copy edit an article, it’s always after another editor has read it. But that editor has a different job. He or she isn’t supposed to know every little thing about language and punctuation and word choice. Instead, he or she oversees the whole section – deciding what the stories will be, assigning them to writers, getting photos, and so on.

They’re not supposed to know everything about copy editing, but they know a lot. Or, I should say, most do. I have, in the past, worked with a couple (I’m thinking of one guy in particular) who weren’t really qualified for the job. And it showed. For example, the one guy I’m thinking of would send me an e-mail to let me know whenever a story was ready for me in the “cue.” He meant queue. He should have just said “folder.”

But even the good ones don’t know everything a copy editor does about word use, which is clear in the little errors they let slip by.

Here are a couple mistakes that editors -- good editors -- have missed recently.

“Forego” in place of “forgo.” If you’re talking about doing without something, do it without the E. The version that’s correctly spelled “forego” is so rare that I don’t know if I’ve ever seen it used. Somewhere between 99% and 100% of the time, you want “forgo.”

“Eek” out a living. This error sneaked past several editors, including the one at my job who probably has the best copy editing skills there. Worse, it appeared in an article that we were reprinting from a well-known national magazine. So that "eek" had already showed up in print, then it got past my editor at work. It should have been “eke.”

“Alter,” “altar.” The publications I edit cover a wide and ever-changing range of topics, sometimes including wedding trends. I’ve seen confusion about "alter" and "altar" go both ways, with wedding stories that talk about a church’s “alter” and other stories that say you should “altar” your plans. Those are both wrong. The one in the church is an “altar,” to change is to “alter.”

“Palette,” “palate.” Confusion about these two is so common that I don’t expect anyone but copy editors to know the difference. “The menu is filled with creations to delight the palette.” Nope. That should be “palate,” a part of the mouth. The other one is about colors and color schemes, like an artist’s palette. A third spelling, pallet, is a wooden platform used to stack and move merchandise in a warehouse.

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One Response to “Some Common Editing Errors: Altar, Forgo, Palate”

  1. It's great that you thought of this and pointed out the simple editing mistakes. I can understand that each editor has a particular responsibility; they are not expected to be experts in all facets of language, grammar, copy editing, or word choice. Instead, he or she is in charge of the entire department, choosing the stories, delegating writing to writers, procuring images, etc. I appreciate that you recently talked about errors that even competent editors occasionally make.